Obsessive+Compulsive+Disorder

=**Obsessive Compulsive Disorder**=



About: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which the sufferers perform obsessive behaviors on impulse to satisfy anxious feelings. Contributing Factors: OCD is a common mental illness and those who develop it usually show symptoms before age thirty. Causes include trauma, head injuries and infections, and brain abnormalities. However, the links between OCD and these factors has not been completely proven. Genetics are a factor in some cases, approximately 1 in 4 people who have OCD also have a relative with the disorder. It has not been determined which genes are involved in the display of OCD, or under what circumstances these genes cause OCD.

Obsessive Symptoms Compulsive Symptoms: Signs and Tests: Keeping track of your behaviors and relaying them to your doctor can help your doctor give a diagnosis, and physical and psychiatric exams can rule out other physical causes or mental disorders. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale is used to diagnose OCD and track the progress of treatment. Treatment: It is usually recommended that both prescriptions and counseling are used to treat OCD. Public Perception: "... for many years, the only thing the general public seemed to know about OCD was that people who had it couldn't stop cleaning their homes or counting things. While this is true for many OCD sufferers, to be sure, it is not true of all!" -Chelsea Lowe Hoarding, hand washing, counting, and cleaning are the general perception of those with OCD because these are behaviors that are not easily hidden from society. However, many with OCD have the ability to function normally in society.
 * Fears, such as becoming infected by touching objects or other people
 * Doubts of your previous actions, specifically locking doors, closing windows, and turning off the stove
 * Intense Stress when objects are not in specific patterns or organized, including color, alphabetical, or height order; when books and papers are not in an orderly stack, etc.
 * Repeatedly checking items to make sure they are safe and secure
 * Counting in certain patterns, such as counting ceiling tiles upon entry into a room, or counting objects in order of color or size
 * Constantly washing or rubbing hands, sometimes to the point of rubbing hands raw
 * Counseling and Cognative Behavioral Therapy
 * Prescriptions
 * Citalopram (Celexa)
 * Fluoxetine (Prozac)
 * Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
 * Paroxetine (Paxil)
 * Sertraline (Zoloft)

Austin and Sarah

Links: @Phobias

Sources: Images: [] http://special-needs.families.com/blog/what-is-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-in-children http://www.hope4ocd.com/overview.php Information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001926/ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Peggy J. Parks
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